Camper English's Blog, page 16

Financial Times: It’s cocktail hour – so put a flower in it

In Alice Lascelles' latest cocktail column for the Financial Times, she covers the summertime trend of using flowers in cocktails and includes a photo from The Ice Book. 

 

Read the story here: It’s cocktail hour – so put a flower in it

 

 

New Booze: July 2023

Below are bottle shots of mostly new- and a few just new to me- spirits products that have come onto the market in the last few months. 

These are from my Instagram account and you can get more information about each of them there. 

 

Camper English Named As One of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the Bar World

Drinks International has released their 2023 Bar World 100 list, a list of the 100 most influential people in the bar world internationally.

I am happy to say that I have once again made the list. The list has been released for the last four years and I have been on it three times, missing 2022. This year I reentered the list at number 46, though I don't think the  order of rankings are very important.

 

 

The voters hail from 60 different cities and include "the media, brand representatives, event organizers, educators and consultants making up the majority of the panel, but of course we have a good share of bartenders too." 

Each voter was asked to name who they considered to be the top 10 most influential bar world figures. More specifically:

» Those who have innovated and pushed the industry forward, setting the standard globally and inspiring others around them.

» Those who have addressed injustices in the bar industry, using their influence to effect positive change.

I thank the voters for selecting me for this accolade. You can view the entire list as a digital magazine .

 

 

 

Vanity Fair: The Glaciers May Be Melting—But Status Ice Is Trending

I was interviewed for this terrific story in Vanity Fair that brings together the modern manifestations of clear ice with its history as a luxury item that quickly transforms into an everyday necessity over and over again. I think the writer did a great job with it. 

Read it here. 

Doctors and Distillers is a Finalist for the 2023 Tales of the Cocktail Foundation Spirited Awards

I am very happy to announce that Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails is a Top 4 Finalist for the Tales 2023 Spirited Awards in the category of Best New Book on Drinks Culture, History, or Spirits!

All the Top 4 nominees are great, as were many in the Top 10 that didn't get through to finals. It's a tough year to win a drink book award, as there were so many good ones newly out. I'm psyched to have made it this far.

Check out the rest of the list here and please pick up Doctors and Distillers if you haven't yet! I'm really proud of it.

photo: Jason Henry

 

Review of The Ice Book on DrinkHacker

Rob Theakston of DrinkHacker wrote a very nice review of The Ice Book. 

He concludes:

The hallmark of English’s books is his ability to make dense subjects approachable and accessible without careening too hard into academic or jargon-laden territories. This book is no exception. If you’re looking to take cocktail aesthetics and accents up [a] level or four, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better book about ice than this.

 

Read it here: Book Review: The Ice Book: Cool Cubes, Clear Spheres, and Other Chill Cocktail Crafts

 

A Mention of The Ice Book in Scientific American

My fellow ice book author Amy Brady wrote an article for Scientific American on the use of ice and its impacts in cocktail programs. 

I consider it a success that not only did she include The Ice Book in the story, I was able to get the expression "dirty dump" in Scientific American! 

Read: Climate-Friendly Cocktail Recipes Go Light on Ice 

 

 

 

Clear ice cubes make cocktails taste better. Really

In the San Francisco Chronicle's Bite Curious newsletter, Caleb Pershan blames me for his new ice obsession. Fair. 

Clear ice cubes make cocktails taste better. Really

 

I think this way because of Camper English, a drinks writer in San Francisco, who recently published a book on the subject, “The Ice Book: Cool Cubes, Clear Spheres, and Other Chill Cocktail Crafts.” English has been writing about techniques for making clear ice since 2009. It’s what he described to me, with an ironic groan, as a “slippery slope.”

“Eventually you wind up like me, just a broken person who can only use certain cubes or I would just rather go thirsty.”

The 10 Biggest Mistakes You're Making With Ice Cubes, According To Camper English

I was interviewed for this story mostly on storing ice. 

 

The 10 Biggest Mistakes You're Making With Ice Cubes, According To Camper English

Crystalline or cloudy? The character of your beverage's ice can be a hot-button issue for some. Ice cube reporter Camper English preeminently taught the masses how to make perfectly clear ice cubes at home. He's written a book about it — aptly named "The Ice Book" — in case your cocktail focus requires it, or it comes up on "Jeopardy." ("What is: directional freezing?") 

 

 

Everything to Know About Mineral Waters and Mixing Water with Spirits

Here's my latest story for Bevvy.co:

Everything to Know About Mineral Waters and Mixing Water with Spirits